Dorset rape victim praises DNA
Dennis FitzgeraldPoole woman sees attacker jailed after 23 years.
Twenty-three years on from an horrific attack in her own home, a Dorset woman has seen the man who raped her sent to prison.
An eight-year sentence has been handed down to 53-year-old Dennis Fitzgerald from Nottingham, (pictured) after his DNA matched a sample preserved from the 1987 crime scene.
The victim who's in her early forties said: "I had a knock on the door in November from Dorset Police, basically telling me that after all this time, they had got him, they matched him through DNA.
"It was a bit of a shock and something I never had imagined would happen, but it was just fantastic.
"This guy would have never have been caught on a description because I was tied up and blind-folded and I would have never been able to describe him.
"It's just fantastic to know that he hasn't got away with it, there's no mistaken identity - this was definitely him."
The victim has this message to other victims: "Please report it, there's other people out there that have been through this that may not have reported it. Please come forward, these people can be caught, thanks to
DNA technology. There is no element of doubt and don't let these people do it to anybody else."
"If there is anybody else that has committed a crime like this, come forward now, because with DNA out there, you are going to get caught. It might have been 10 years ago, it might have been 25 years ago but this case shows there is nowhere for you to hide - you will be caught eventually."
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